Years before J.J. Abrams' new Science Fiction TV series Revolution, or Newt Gingrich's prediction of a doomsday power outage, Raymond Jones wrote a spell-binding sci-fi novel with a similar theme. The world suddenly finds that, due to an unknown cause, all machines have stopped working. That means no electricity, no cars, no computers, none of the things the modern world has come to rely on. The story follows the population of a small college town as events unfold. Will scientists, using only primitive equipment be able to find the cause...and a solution? Will people band together and find a way to survive or will chaos ensue?

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cindilla says:"Wild, Weird and Wonderful!"

Publisher's Summary

Years before J.J. Abrams' new Science Fiction TV series Revolution, or Newt Gingrich's prediction of a doomsday power outage, Raymond Jones wrote a spell-binding sci-fi novel with a similar theme. The world suddenly finds that, due to an unknown cause, all machines have stopped working. That means no electricity, no cars, no computers, none of the things the modern world has come to rely on. The story follows the population of a small college town as events unfold. Will scientists, using only primitive equipment be able to find the cause...and a solution? Will people band together and find a way to survive or will chaos ensue?

Would you consider the audio edition of The Year When Stardust Fell to be better than the print version?

Yes. Jim Roberts is one of my favorite narrators and he did his usual excellent job. It's also better because I rarely have time to sit down and read. I listened to this, as I do almost all my non-work related reading during my daily commute.

What did you like best about this story?

"The never give up hope" plot, the characters. The twists and unexpected turns of the story.

Have you listened to any of Jim Roberts’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I have. I was a bit surprised to see the only review so far said his performance "sucked." However, based on his past performances, I got it anyway and I'm glad I did. I don't know where that reviewer was coming from but...this was a good read, and a good story. However, listeners have very different reactions to narrators so if you have not listened to Jim Roberts before then listen to the sample. Why people don't take a few minutes to do this and then write time-consuming nasty reviews is something I have never understood. I suspect those who do this are too young to have learned that you "kick the tires" first.

Any additional comments?

Like any sci-fi book you have to "suspend your disbelief" to enjoy. If you start nit-picking at the science then...why are you reading a science fiction book? Enjoy it for what it it...a very good "other possible future" sci fi story.

I'd like to know who originally rated this audio book with 4.5 stars -- I'm guessing it was the publisher. He lied. The performance sucks. The narration is so bad, enjoyment of the story, which itself is marginal at best, gets lost. The narrator doesn't seem connected with, let alone interested in, what he's reading, and one could easily believe the recording presented us was his first perusal of the material -- his voice also sounds as though it had been run through a mechanical translator, all tinny and without emotional inflection. The characters are one-dimensional, and the progression of the tale is predictable and unimaginative. The whole thing lacks an essential sense of reality and flow which readers of good fiction expect. After hearing the entire book, I still didn't care about any of the people in it, or how things turned out for them, and that's rare for me. It was definitely a waste of my time. If you are interested in the subject matter, but prefer a really well-written, realistic story that's brilliantly performed by the talented Joe Barrett, portraying multi-dimensional characters with whom you can immediately identify and connect, along with intense, though entirely credible situations that can easily cause you to forget you're reading a work of fiction, I suggest "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen. I don't usually revisit audio books once I've heard them, but this one is an exception. Throughout the telling, I found myself laughing ... and crying ... and caring deeply about how things turned out for everyone involved. Additionally, the author brought to light significant areas in the realm of family preparedness that many readers had neglected to consider before listening, and considering its audience, that's saying something. "One Second After" rates 5-stars across the board.

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